Teaching Pundit/Undervisning Pundit: Creating a Classroom Culture for Learning: Take the classroom outside

The Norwegians have a saying 'ikke dårlig vær, bare dårlig klær' which translates to 'there is no such thing as bad weather only bad clothing'. The phrase is often used to put across the argument that bad weather is never an excuse not to do something. A phrase I would turn my nose up to whenever the Viking Queen (Norwegian mother-in-law) would recite this saying to me. Of course, her declaration was often in response to her witnessing my procrastination around the house when she thought I should be on a day trip with my children. My lame excuse: it’s too cold! After all, five degrees (in London) is cold, or so I thought. However, my initiation into winter football training in Norway helped me recognise that this Norwegian phrase is (almost) fact. -17 degrees, 9pm in the evening, and twenty over 40 year old men playing football.

So not only was the fierce Viking Queen, who would come and plunder my home, right, but I have come to realise that her comment is part of a collective national voice. It is this shared mindset that helps Norwegians maintain a strong bond with their local environment, and the weather. Norwegians appear to get the best out of the four seasons, with a focus on the benefits of each season as opposed to the drawbacks. Summer is for utilising the fjords by daily/weekly dips, canoeing, boat trips and daily BBQs. Autumn and Spring are about weekend walks and the opportunity to appreciate the stunning countryside, like a scene from a Jane Austen novel. Winter is snow fun time – skiing, snowboarding, sledding, igloo building, and supporting Norway's No 1 sport the biathlon.

Many Norwegians have a summer, and a winter cabin that they frequently visit, sometimes every weekend, located and built to provide a respite from the trappings of technology, and urban life. Norwegians use their natural environment to optimum effect which helps to ensure a legacy; that generation after generation will have a natural affinity to nature, and the benefits it brings. The Norwegian term for such an outdoor dynamic with nature is Friluftsliv. The term is used to describe a way of life that is often spent exploring and appreciating nature, and takes centre stage in almost all of Norway's barnehage (pre – school). Here children are taught to manage the risks of outdoor life rather than ignore it. This focus on friluftsliv is promoted to some extent throughout a child’s education in Norway, but it would appear that such thinking is perhaps a Scandinavian thing:

“Human contact with nature is decreasing in some parts of the world. For example, Tapsell et al. (2001) demonstrated that children’s access to natural environments in the United Kingdom has declined dramatically over the past few decades and that a range of physical and social factors were accelerating this withdrawal from natural environments. Kellert (2002, p.143) notes that major shifts in family traditions, recreational activity, social support networks, and community relations have eroded many children’s traditional opportunities for contact with nature."

Why should this be a worry to educators? If you believe that schools exist to simply help students pass exams then it isn't. But if you believe that schools should support children towards becoming adults that are change agents then it is. I suspect that it is mightily difficult to expect young people to truly care about mother nature, if they view it as something separate from their existence. Hence, as teachers (if possible) we should look for opportunities to use the local environment to support our lessons, especially when our earth requires more than ever for people to be sympathetic to her plight. Of course, just like my Sunday afternoon excuses, as teachers we have some plausible excuses that help us remain within the confines of the classroom. The bureaucratic process of arranging a walk to the park, forest or lake may appear more hassle than it's worth. So instead we may turn to technology to further help us justify the ignoring of a fantastic and important resource. Youtube and google cardboard (VR) are able to bring a visual experience to children's eyes that was not possible during my school days. But this technology should be a solution for potentially unrealistic ventures: the amazon rainforest, the coral reef, the solar system, not a substitute for the natural environment that is often on our doorstep.

Does friluftsliv make a difference to mother nature?

Consider the following information: Norway has the highest growth rate for electric cars in the world. With 1 in every 100 cars an electric car. Norway's entire electricity output is powered completely by hydro electricity. Norway is the 15th biggest producer of oil in the world. How many of the other oil rich nations have a similar collective mindset?

Does friluftsliv make a difference to learning?

If my emotive stance so far hasn't convinced you to look for every opportunity to take you classroom outside then perhaps the notion that providing variability in the learning environment can enhance learning:

If you’re after sustained improvement then you want to introduce as much variability into your teaching as possible: change rooms, change seating, change displays, remove the comforting and familiar background to lessons; mix up topics. These desirable topics will slow down performance but will lead to increased long term retention and transfer of knowledge between contexts.” (Didau 2015: 127)

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